FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT LIFESTYLE DRUGS - PAGE 2

KOLKATA: On the heels of acquiring the non-oncology formulations business of Dabur Pharma, the Vadodara-based Alembic is on the prowl again. Alembic says it is keen to acquire the formulations business of a domestic pharma company with a strong presence in segments like lifestyle disease and dermatology. Alembic officials, however, are silent on the identity of the target pharma company. Talking to ET, Alembic's CMD Chirayu Amin said the company is eyeing an acquisition that will entail investment of approximately Rs 50-100 crore.

NEW DELHI: Lifestyle factors like physical inactivity, a salt-rich diet rich in fatty foods and smoking, are leading for an alarming increase in cardio-vascular diseases . The trend is reflected in rising sales of major drugs to treat blood pressure and cardio-vascular problems by Dr Reddy's , Pfizer, Zydus Cadila and Cipla, which have witnessed a double-digit growth over the last couple of years. CVD drugs like Minipres-XL , Amplopres-AT and Cardace registered a robust sales growth of nearly 15%, 22% and over 13% in the 12-month period ended June this year, according to ORG-IMS . (See graph)

AHMEDABAD: As a part of its strategy to sharpen focus on the fastest growing segments ? cardiovascular and diabetes, Torrent Pharmaceuticals (TPL) has set up a new strategic business unit (SBU) for marketing its drugs for lifestyle related diseases. The new division has been christened as 'Nova' that will exclusively focus on marketing of its cardiovascular and anti-diabetic drugs. It now seeks to increase market share in these segments to an ambitious 16 per cent in the next financial.

AHMEDABAD: As a part of its strategy to sharpen focus on the fastest growing segments ? cardiovascular and diabetes, Torrent Pharmaceuticals (TPL) has set up a new strategic business unit (SBU) for marketing its drugs for lifestyle related diseases. The new division has been christened as 'Nova' that will exclusively focus on marketing of its cardiovascular and anti-diabetic drugs. It now seeks to increase market share in these segments to an ambitious 16 per cent in the next financial.

NEW DELHI: Parabolic Drugs today said its net profit rose by 2.72 per cent year-on-year to Rs 12.82 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2011. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 12.48 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, Parabolic Drugs said in a filing to the BSE. Total income of the company stood at Rs 273.57 crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 151.47 crore for the corresponding period last fiscal. During the third quarter this fiscal, the company started production of lifestyle drugs and non-antibiotics at its greenfield site in Lalru, Parabolic Drugs said.

MUMBAI: In a bid to consolidate its presence in the lifestyle drug segment, Mumbai-based Lupin is setting up a plant for manufacturing "Lovastatin", a cholesterol lowering active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore. The plant, to be set up at Tarapur near here, would have an initial capacity in excess of 12 metric tonnes per annum, Lupin said in a release here on Wednesday. The company has already entered into a long-term contract with a global pharmaceutical player for supply of "Lovastatin", it said.

Bafna jumps 7% on MNC stake buy talk Shares of Chennai-based Bafna Pharmaceuticals rose 6.8% to '51.75 on Thursday on speculation a multinational drug firm may acquire one of its brands. The buzz is that the company is in advanced stage of negotiation in this deal. The size of this deal could not be ascertained. A top official in Bafna declined comment. The company recently received some approvals from African markets to launch lifestyle drugs. FIs load up on steel stocks on price hike hopes Institutional investors have been accumulating shares of steel companies amid talks that there could be a 5% increase in prices over the next few months.

Drug maker Lupin, which was expected to underperform, surprised the market with a better show during the fourth quarter ended March 2011. It logged a 17.5% growth in net sales and a 3% increase in net profit for the quarter impacted as it was by a price erosion of its generic Lotrel in the US and higher base sales of Suprax drug (in Q4FY10). Consequently, the operating profit margin also dropped by 220 bps to 20.6%. At over 40%, the US region is the largest contributor to the company's formulations business.

A Changing product mix has helped Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma boost its fortunes. From being in the low-margin API manufacturing business, the company has now transformed itself into being a high-margin formulations player. The company has also globalised its operations compared with being a domestic player earlier. On the product side, it has enriched its portfolio by adding lifestyle drugs from being an anti-infective player in the past. All this, along with a partnership deal with Pfizer, has catapulted the company into the league of leading generic companies in India.

India is emerging as an area of high economic growth compared with other countries in the region. This is attracting foreign investors despite worrying global factors like rising oil prices and hike in interest rates. According to fund managers tracking FII flows, the high growth in earnings clocked by Indian companies during the June quarter has forced many foreign investors to take a more favourable view of Indian equities vis-a-vis other markets. While even large Indian companies have posted high double-digit growth, companies in economies like Korea and Taiwan are expected to grow only in single digits.